(3) K-3 Photographs by Wing Young Huie. A short poetic text focuses on both the difficulties and rewards of immigrant life. Poignant black-and-white and color photos, taken over thirty years in Huie's home state of Minnesota and around America, feature ordinary people of many ages and ethnicities (there are no individual captions). Though accessible to younger children, the book may best be discussed by middle-elementary students and above.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) YA Seventeen-year-old Cray Franklin's post–high school life is all set: he's been admitted to his father's alma mater, he will study to become a doctor...and he doesn't want any of it. Guided by a new friend taking a gap year, Cray takes a summer job assisting developmentally disabled adults. Cray's navigation of indecision and social pressures, while recognizable, feels unfortunately rushed.

Reviewer: Anastasia M. Collins

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Randy DuBurke. Coy tells the dramatic story of an illegal, secret basketball game in Jim Crow–era North Carolina between the white Duke University Medical School team and the black North Carolina College of Negroes team. The succinct narrative is well paced, compelling, and multilayered, focusing on the remarkable game but also placing it in societal and historical context. DuBurke's illustrations nicely capture the story's atmosphere. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2015

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Headcase Design. This high-interest volume includes extreme-sports history, advice on dangers (e.g., an illustrated "Learn to Fall" guide), examples of real athletes' "Excellent Nicknames," cursory introductions to popular and lesser-known sports, brief athlete bios, and lots more. With flashy design elements (in a limited palette of black, white, and neon orange), the book sure looks stylish, but it's ultimately too densely packed and scattershot.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Joe Morse. Taking over an unruly gym class that had already run off two predecessors, James Naismith needs a game where "accuracy was more valuable than force." And so basketball is concocted. Coy's tight focus on the sport's initial season--only one point was scored in the first game--is immediately engrossing. Morse's kinetic paintings fill the spreads, capturing the game's combination of power and finesse. Bib.

Reviewer: Thom Barthelmess | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2013

(3) 4-6 Numerous challenges faced by four sixth-grade friends threaten their basketball season. When Gig's father is injured in Afghanistan, Gig goes missing. Narrator Jackson must figure out how to get Gig back in the game. Plus, the big dance is only days away, and Jackson is without a date. Middle-school angst combined with contemporary events heighten the appeal of this winning read.

Reviewer: Nancy Hull

(3) 4-6 Jackson relates the many changes middle school brings for him and friends Gig, Isaac, and Diego. Sixth grade begins with school-bus bullying and tons of homework; nonetheless, the friends are determined to make the football team. They do, but the sports action is only one strand in the larger story of social adjustment. Appealing characters and brief chapters will keep readers engaged.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) 4-6 Soon-to-be-sixth-grader Jackson (Top of the Order) is psyched to go to soccer camp with his three best friends. But the novice player starts to sour on the sport when he finds himself struggling during practices. Some subplots (Jackson's mother has a boyfriend; a friend's father is getting deployed to Afghanistan) aren't fully developed, but the ins and outs of friendship are realistically depicted.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) 4-6 In this story with plenty of play-by-play action (and the obligatory girl who wants to play baseball with the boys), ten-year-old Jackson has a lot on his mind. His mother has a new boyfriend, his friend's father is deploying to Afghanistan, and he's nervous about middle school. Most of the subplots aren't well developed, but readers will sympathize with the characters.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) YA Sophomore Liam gets called up to play varsity basketball. His excitement is crushed, though, when the star player quits, and Liam recognizes that racial prejudice is involved. Further questions regarding the coach's mandatory prayer meetings force Liam to take a stand. Though the characters are wooden, the story raises difficult issues and offers solid basketball action.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Carolyn Fisher. A young girl and her father spend time together planting potatoes in their garden. She is skeptical that anything will grow from their two withered potatoes, but in the fall both her potatoes and the time spent with her father have produced good results. The bright illustrations create a splashy collage effect but are sometimes busy. A recipe for creamy mashed potatoes is included.

Reviewer:

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Joe Cepeda. Before bedtime, Dad takes Carmela for a ride in the car. He asks her repeatedly if she's "ready for sleep," but she always answers, "Not yet, Daddy. Keep driving." And drive he does--even through swamps, "wurgle lurgle," and over the ocean, "splash dash wave CRASH." Like the text, Cepeda's paintings, with their sweeping curves and jaunty yellow car, are full of vitality.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Leslie Jean-Bart. Young James finally gets his chance to play basketball with his older brother and the big boys, where he battles bulging muscles, trash talk, and the stinging asphalt of the playground. Yet, as anticipated, the boy makes the final shot to win the game. Unique collage illustrations, blending photography and scratchboard drawings, give an engaging sense of realism to the story.

Reviewer: Charlotte S. Huck